Second-generation Android One kicks off with Lava Pixel V1, comes with a plausible Philippine release

The
second-generation Android One series of smartphones kicked-off in India
yesterday with the Lava Pixel V1. All the while we knew that the handset would
be another listing off the first generation of Android One, but we were wrong. The
device comes with improved hardware that increments on a very tight price
standpoint. So what does the new breed of Android One has to offer? Will it
come to the Philippines? We have reserved the answers to those questions right
after the fold.

Lava
Pixel V1 second-gen Android One

The
Lava Pixel V1 Android One smartphone hits the phablet category with its
5.5-inch display. The display panel is treated with an anti-scratch Asahi
Dragontrail protection. The new model doubles the RAM at 2GB; however, the CPU
still ticks with four cores at 1.3GHz each. We are looking into a MediaTek
MT6582 chipset with, of course, 500 MHz of Mali-400 MP2 GPU.

Across
the board, the generous 32GB of native storage is expandable up to 32GB via
microSD card. This 135-gram device gets its juice from the 2650 mAh Li-Po
battery that could support up to 20 hours of 2G talk time or 12 hours in 3G.

As
far as the camera goes, the Lava Pixel V1’s rear camera is only rated 8MP;
however, it has the capability of capturing 13MP images. The f/2.0 lens will
also be reinforced by the LED flash, if the situation demands. It’s still the
same story when it comes to the front-facing camera with f/2.4 lens; sensor is rated
5MP with 8MP capturing capability.

The
Lava Pixel V1 wouldn’t be an Android One handset if not for the latest stock
Android version (5.1.1 Lollipop) that comes out of the box. Likewise, Google
also promises atleast 2 years of support in terms of software updates. The
handset comes with an asking price of USD 177, roughly Php 7800 as of today’s
conversion.

Second-generation
Android One to hit the Philippines?

Will
second-generation Android One come to the Philippines? There’s a high
possibility that it will due to the fact that we are one of targeted smartphone
markets of this program. If we are to include history, Cherry Mobile and
MyPhone might be brewing something on their sleeves as of this writing;
however, we are looking forward for more brands joining the bandwagon like O+
and Starmobile. In the meantime, check out the Lava Pixel V1 specs below.

Lava
Pixel V1 second-generation Android One Specs

152.1
x 76.3 x 8.5 mm, 135 grams

5.5-inch
IPS LCD HD display with 720 x 1280p at 267 ppi

Asahi
Dragontrail Glass

MediaTek
MT6582

1.3-GHz
quad-core CPU

Mali-400
MP2 GPU

2GB
RAM

32GB
built-in memory

Up
to 32GB via microSD card

8MP
AF rear camera sensor with 13MP image capturing, LED Flash

5MP
front camer sensor with 8MP image capturing

Dual
SIM, Dual Standby (MicroS SIM)

3G
HSPA+ and 2G

Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth
4.0

GPS,
AGPS

USB
OTG

MicroUSB
2.0

3.5mm
Audio Jack

FM
Radio

Android
5.1.1 Lollipop

2,560mAh
Li-Po Battery

White,
Gold

USD
177, approximately Php 7,800

Google announces the Second-generation Android One program with India's Lava Pixel V1. Hardware improved, still on tight budget!

Pinoy Metro Geek is a PCB-SiP Package Design Layout Engineer by day and a Tech Blog Power Ranger by night. He juggles his interests in gadgets, travel and music. He likes to do all his techie stuff with his cup of coffee.